


How to Download a Heart

by VampireHydeFTW



Category: the GazettE
Genre: M/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-22 13:33:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireHydeFTW/pseuds/VampireHydeFTW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai had been addicted to Virtual Reality gaming for as long as he could remember. His online existence more real to him than reality to himself. That is until he meets Uruha, and reality no longer seems quite so bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have based a lot of this gaming from my time spent playing the MMORPG Aion, but don't worry I kept as much gamer lingo out of this as I possibly could. So no phrases like "My sorc needs mats for pots." (My sorcerer needs materials to create potions).

He ducked low, dodging the swing of the ogre's giant sword with style and grace as a fire ball flew overhead hitting the far less graceful creature before him. The earth shook with every step this foul beast made, but Kai wasn't afraid despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had defeated thousands of creatures like this before, there was nothing to worry about.

“Kai, keep low.” his team mate, Aoi, called from behind. He did as requested, without thinking about it, his broadsword raised to take most of the blow from the ogre above. His body tingled from the impact, then tingled again as he felt himself being healed by the medic that stood out of harms way.

He swung the sword, swiping at the beast's leg as a volley of arrows flew overheard. Out of nowhere Reita appeared beside him, twin daggers swiping at the beast before he dodged back to safety leaving Kai alone to face the monsters wrath. It was his role after all, but even as he was thinking about it a blow connected with his chest and he fell backwards onto the cobbled street. The vibrations from his suit simulated the pain he should have felt, without actually hurting at all. Pain didn't sell games after all.

His character had died, paralysed now until he was revived or the ten second countdown that appeared in his line of vision reached zero and offered him the chance to re-spawn back at the beginning of the dungeon.

“Sorry!” Uruha called out, sounding genuinely traumatised that he had let his team mate die.

“No worries.” Kai responded, relieved to be able to move once more. Uruha had revived him, and the second he was healed he returned to the battle as if he had never left.

Kai couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been addicted to virtual reality gaming. As a kid he had spent long hours of his day playing Xbox Kinect games with his father who used to talk about the Sega Dreamcast and the Nintendo 64 in the same way Kai talked about Xbox and Playstation now. They had been the beginning, archaic now that full virtual reality had taken over. It had been almost two decades since he had last played a game on a TV screen, adapting to every change before it even happened. A valuable skill for a game developer to have.

Former game developer, Kai corrected himself as he swung the finishing blow. He didn't work anymore. Which was why he had long hours to waste on a Thursday afternoon playing this game with the new group of friends he had met earlier this week.

“Reita, 24,847, Aoi, 23,809, Kai, 13,573, Ruki, 38,103, Uruha, 1004.” Reita read out, clearly having run some program that had tracked the damage done. A lot of gamers were competitive in this respect, but Kai's role was to take damage and not give it. It didn't matter that his figure was low, the others would have been dead in a heartbeat without him on the front lines.

“Damn Uruha, no wonder Kai died. You were attacking instead of healing weren't you!” Aoi teased.

“Only at the beginning!” Uruha protested. “I don't know what happened. I'm so sorry Kai.”

“My shield ran out, no worries.” Kai repeated. “It's just a game, you revived me straight away.”

“Still, I'm normally better than this. Especially with an amazing tank like you.” Uruha replied.

“Oh look! A new bow for Aoi.” Ruki declared, having ignored all the drama to look at the loot. “Lucky.”

“Anything else?” Kai asked.

“Rubbish really,” Aoi replied. “Free roll on everything but the bow?”

“Just hurry up, I have to go to work in ten minutes.” Reita protested and for once Ruki quickly let the dice rolling begin on the items, as the money was automatically shared equally between them all.

“Thanks guys, but I have to go.” Aoi called out as he claimed the bow for his character and logged out. Seconds behind him Ruki and Reita left the game too, leaving Uruha and Kai alone.

“I'll do better next time.” Uruha reassured him. “Do you have to go too?”

“Not for awhile.” Kai confessed. Not ever in fact, but he didn't feel like sharing that fact with Uruha who he hardly knew.

“Chat room?” Uruha asked. “We could talk strategy.”

“Sure, send me the URL.” Kai requested as he logged out of the game and returned to the internet browser. Browsers all had different layouts, based on real space but Kai's preferred one was a Island town with a golden bridge heading to the shore. Sometimes he would linger here, talking to anyone who walked by but Uruha was waiting so he stepped on the bridge and uploaded his character to the private chat room address Uruha had given him.

“What is this, a brothel?” Kai asked as he looked around the room that contained not a lot more than a giant heart shaped bed, crimson sofa and a thousand burning candles.

“My love room.” Uruha replied, as he sat down on the bed with a smile. The revealing outfit his female character wore seeming to reveal more skin here than it had done in game. “Don't the vibrations of the game just make you so horny?”  
“No.” Kai replied. “But I’ve heard men say that before.”

“It's why I decided to be a medic, playing games with uncomfortable boners all the time just got too much for me.” Uruha replied. “Sorry, am I ruining the delusion of my femininity?”

“It's fine.” Kai replied, cautiously. The truth was Uruha's female character did nothing to him, though male ones could be an entirely different story. He was gay, and out of the game completely out of the closet. The world outside was accepting, free of all forms of discrimination, mainly because peoples true feelings were saved for online. Kai had never seen as much homophobia in real life, than he would in ten minutes online. “I know you're not really a blond woman with huge breasts and no shame. You're Japanese right?”

“I'm not so hard to figure out am I?” Uruha said laughing.

“A man speaking Japanese on Japanese servers doesn't have much chance of convincing anyone he's a European woman.” Kai teased.

“True, Kouyou, 33, Tokyo.” Uruha listed.

“Yutaka, 33, Tokyo.” Kai replied. “We're the same age?”

“Looks like it.” Uruha agreed. “Probably why you fit in the group so well, you're just like us.”

“I guess so.” Kai agreed.

“So, will you stay with us for ever and ever?” Uruha begged. “A good tank is so hard to find and every medic needs one.”

“I'll stay around.” Kai promised, “Because a good medic is harder to find than a good tank.”

“I'm not good, I let you die.” Uruha complained.

“Last dungeon I ran, with a cleric other than you that is, I died 17 times.” Kai replied. “I've died with you three times in a whole week.” He remembered every death clearly, the paralysis in game had terrified him at first, now it just made him uneasy. He hated the sensation of not being able to move, it was partly why he had become so good at keeping himself alive.

“17?” Uruha replied. “What level was he?”

“Max, like us.” Kai responded.

“I still feel bad.” Uruha pouted. “Kai, can I tell you something?”

“What is it?” Kai asked, sensing Uruha's nervousness and wondering what secret he was about to reveal.

“I find your character hot.” Uruha replied. “Vibrations hot.” So that was it, Uruha was gay like him? He couldn't help but laugh as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He'd modelled the character after himself, more muscles, smoother skin tone but almost entirely the same. He was happy with the way he looked for the most part, he didn't attempt to hide it.

“I'm so relieved.” Kai admitted after Uruha's annoyed protests. “This makes it so easy now, I'm gay too.”

“I thought you might be.” Uruha admitted. “I wasn't sure. I like you Kai, really like you. Do you think, could we meet up in real life? Unless you have a boyfriend or something?”

“No boyfriend.” Kai replied. There was no excuses either, who knew maybe this could become something more than an online friendship.

 

They'd talked for a good hour after that, flirting and laughing and browsing each others game history. The whole time Yutaka had wondered if he should tell Kouyou the truth about himself and why it was he hadn't had a date in two years. It went beyond being a recluse and gamer but he didn't feel comfortable sharing. In the end he had logged off, even more worried now. The next time they would meet would be in real life, he would have to face Kouyou's reaction first hand.

Reality was harsh, compared to the online games. The walls that confined him bored him, but he had been too scared to leave them since the accident. Yet, he was desperate to meet Kouyou. He would conquer his fear.

With the last sensor removed, a process that took him a lot longer for him than most men, he lowered the right arm of his gaming chair out of the way and lifted his body with just his arms to slide into the chair waiting beside. His prison if ever there was one. He had been confined to this wheelchair for two years now, trapped in a body that couldn't walk or run or dance. He did all those things in game without problem, why was his avatar so athletic when his body was so useless? They were controlled by the same brain waves but the nerves just wouldn't send messages to his real legs. What would Kouyou think when he saw him like this? Would he pity him or make excuses to leave? Both seemed equally horrible to Yutaka, but the slim chance that he just wouldn't care had made him agree to see him.

“Time to brace the outside world.” Yutaka announced to his empty home. His fear was of being judged but it was about time he left this apartment. Kouyou had simply given him the reason he needed to give it a go.

The communal hall outside his apartment was empty, which was both a relief and disappointing. He wanted to see how people would react to him, get an idea of what it was actually like to be outside with a disability like his.

He reached up for the elevator button, one he had pressed thousands of times before but now felt like a distant memory of a better time. He ignored the memories and rolled into the metal box, heading for the ground floor and then outside onto the street.

There were people here, and whilst they gave him room, few bothered with him at all. Those who did just watched for a moment, as if wondering if he needed help. He didn't, he was used to the chair and had already decided where he should go.

The park wasn't far, but the warm day had made it busy. Every park bench was full of families, or couples but he had a chair of his own so parked it to one side and watched the ducks swimming as he enjoyed his ice cream. His fear had been ridiculous, he realised, and maybe an excuse as well. He knew that he spent far to long online, that he should get a job and move on from the accident but he just couldn't.

“Why is he in a chair?” a kid asked his mother, actually pointing directly at him as he asked. His mother was mortified, but Yutaka surprised himself by just how much he didn't actually care. Was the fear he thought he had, even real?

“It was an accident.” he found himself speaking up. “From when I was an international spy.”

“No way, that's so cool!” the kid declared. The mother smiled at him, sure that he was lying but relieved that he hadn't been offended by her child's curiosity. They left soon after that, leaving him alone to wonder what Kouyou might be like. Perhaps he had secrets of his own?


	2. Chapter 2

He spotted Kouyou the moment he walked into the café by the purple flower he held in his hand. A snap dragon of all things, in honour of the first boss they had defeated together in game he assumed. He'd already placed his token on the table, a red rose that seemed a little cliched now he saw what Kouyou was holding. Still he smiled shyly, watching as Kouyou gave him two looks. One for him, a second for the chair. He paused for a moment in the doorway before he headed over, but once he sat down he made no mention of his disability at all.

“Here, for you.” Kouyou offered him, as confident in real life as he was in game it seemed. Blond too, which Kai hadn't expected, and beautiful. Why he hid behind a female avatar Kai could never guess, unless it was to protect his own identity. “You're as handsome as your avatar by the way. I guess I can say that, having already complimented you before.” he finished, with an embarrassed laugh.

“Does the chair not bother you?” Yutaka asked. Determined to get this topic over with before the date continued.

“It was a surprise.” Kouyou confessed. “But it has no real significance. Unless...”

“It works. I can still have sex.” Yutaka confessed, blushing. “If that's what you mean?”

“I guess.” Kouyou replied. “I'm sorry, I'm always too forward. I just say things without thinking. It's why I prefer the game. It's easier, because everyone is brutally honest. Too honest in fact. All those people online that mock us, they're out here you know. Only here they pretend to be nice to your face. Virtual reality feels more real, you know?”

“I'm a man stuck in a wheelchair,” Yutaka responded. “In game I'm a warrior. I get to live a life I never could out of game. That's why I love it so much. That, and gaming has always been part of my life.”

“Still, there's some things you can't do online.” Kouyou replied. Was he flirting, the comment certainly sounded suggestive but before Yutaka could reply a waitress came over and took Kouyou's drink order. He took the chance to take a sip of his own drink, admiring the man before him who seemed miles out of his league. Once, he would have dated men like this with confidence and grace, now he no longer felt he deserved them.

“What are you thinking about?” Kouyou asked. “You look lost in thought.”

“Oh, just that it's nice to finally meet someone who won't freak out when they realise I'm addicted to gaming.” Yutaka responded. It was part of the truth at least.

“Because I'll be right behind you, watching your back.” Kouyou responded. “Or maybe lower.”

“Lower is fine.” he replied, blushing as he realised what he had just said. He wasn't normally a flirt, but Kouyou was so open with him that it was hard to remember that they had only met online a week before.

 

For the past two years few people had been welcomed into his home His family and the young woman who cleaned and cooked his evening meal were the only regular visitors and he had grown used to things being this way. The idea that someone might come in, and move his things out of his reach had always scared him.

“If you pick something up, put it back where you found it.” Yutaka warned as he watched Kouyou admiring his gaming set up. The date had gone well, beyond anything he could have hoped, but he hadn't wanted it to end up here. It had been a toss up though, between saying goodbye and taking things further in his own home. Kouyou apologising that his home simply didn't have disabled access.

“I have the Cosmo Seven.” Kouyou responded, referring to the latest games system on the market. “Everyone I know has it, or wishes they did. How do you have the Cosmo Eight?”

“I used to work in the industry.” Yutaka admitted. “Before the accident, I still have friends there.” Kouyou nodded, accepting his explanation with a smile.

“I already have mine reserved.” he explained. “But it's not out for a couple of months yet. I'm jealous, I don't like feeling jealous.”

“Jealous? The Cosmo series is so expensive it's rare anyone has anything better than a six.” Yutaka replied. Not that money was an issue to him, or clearly Kouyou either.

“People just don't have better gaming systems than me.” Kouyou pouted.

“Well, maybe if you're good I'll let you use it?” he asked, only half surprised when Kouyou leant over his chair to whisper into his ear.

“And if I'm naughty?” His words were a breathless whisper, a promise of what was to come and he gave into Kouyou instantly. Kissing his lips, stroking his soft hair and enjoying the warmth of another man after so long alone. He needed this, no matter what happened afterwards, nothing would be a reason to make him say no.

“If you want to be naughty, come to my bedroom.” Kai found himself ordered, fighting away the voice that demanded to know what he was doing. He had always been dominant in relationships, but how was he supposed to say in charge now?

“It's much more fun to be naughty than nice.” Kouyou replied, letting Yutaka lead the way. The transition from wheelchair to bed, was easy now, he didn't even think about what he was doing. He glanced up to see an admiring smile waiting for him. He felt more normal now, just a man lying on a bed as his sexy date crawled over and joined their lips as one.

“How do you do this?” Kouyou asked, sliding his hand under Yutaka's shirt. It was asked seductively, but acted like an instant mood killer for Yutaka.

“I haven't not since I got the chair.” he admitted. Wondering if that would scare Kouyou away, relieved when it didn't.

“I'd love to feel your cock inside me,” Kouyou responded, “Do you want that too?”

“You bet I do.” Yutaka agreed, reaching up and helping Kouyou out of his clothes. This was too good to be true, but he wasn't going to question anything in fear that it might all go away. Feeling more confident than he had in a long time, he slid his hand beneath Kouyou's waistband, sliding inch by inch down until he could stroke the tip of Kouyou's hard length.

“Just like that, baby.” Kouyou moaned as he straddled Yutaka's body, rubbing the bulge in his trousers with his own ass. He had no shame, not when he was with somebody he already considered to be a friend.

“Do you like this?” Yutaka asked, “Dirty little boy.”  
“Very much.” Kouyou whimpered, “But I need more.”

“What do you need?” Yutaka asked, knowing Kouyou had the power here really, but loving how his partner was allowing him to lead anyway. Somehow Kouyou had figured the exact way to please him.

“To see you, naked.” Kouyou replied, laughing as he darted out of Yutaka's reach and slid his own hand in where Yutaka's had been moments before. He stroked himself, too horny to slow down now. To needy to be a tease for long. It seemed Yutaka was no different, removing his T-shirt and revealing a chest and arms with muscles firm and strong from the extra use his disability had forced on them. If anything Yutaka looked like he lived in a gym, not on video games like he knew to be true.

“You remove the rest.” Yutaka suggested, saving himself the embarrassment of the long process struggling out of the jeans he wore would lead to. He hadn't expected Kouyou to just toss his clothes to one side though, forgetting his request to leave everything in his reach. “You can pick them up later.” he scolded.

“Yeah, sorry.” Kouyou replied, not sounding at all apologetic as he bent over and ran his tongue up Yutaka's long length. He pulled back, always a tease, as he stripped away his own clothes, tossing a condom and lube at Yutaka from his pocket. “Prepare me?”

“Why should I?” Yutaka asked, lightly spanking the ass cheek nearest to him.

“Do what you like then.” Kouyou complained, kneeling over Yutaka and wrapping his mouth around his length. His ass hovered near Yutaka's face, but the last thing he expected was for the warm tongue to slid into him. The moan escaped instantly, Yutaka's mouth distracting him entirely from his own attempts at oral pleasure. He had never had anyone willing to do this for him before, it felt amazing.

Fingers spread his cheeks apart, the tongue sliding in deeper and he buried his face down, swallowing Yutaka's arousal in his mouth. If only to show him that he could do this, a skill he had spent hours developing in the privacy of his own room. He sucked lightly, his tongue flicking out as two fingers slid inside him, stretching him, making him pull back to gasp for air.

“Pass me the condom.” He got out, finding the item offered to him in a heartbeat. As Yutaka prepared him, he ripped the package open and took the latex into his mouth. He's show this man exactly what he could do with his mouth. In a practised move he slid the latex over Yutaka's length, deep throating him once more.

“Oh god, Kouyou.” Yutaka moaned, unable to think about anything but the man's tongue on his length. How can anyone be so talented with their mouth? He wouldn't last at all if Kouyou continued, but to his relief the blond moved away, quickly straddling him once more and sliding himself down onto his arousal. So warm and tight, so very much what he craved.

He was still at Kouyou's mercy, unable to even move his hips, but it didn't matter. In this position, with a partner like this, nothing mattered at all but the feelings of pleasure radiating from this beautiful young man.

 

Kouyou was lying beside Yutaka, with his head resting on his chest, when his phone rang. He would ignore it, but he recognised the ringtone as the one assigned to his friend. Apologising he found it among his clothes and greeted the caller with a friendly hello. He could tell Yutaka could hear every word, and recognised his friend's voice, so he made no attempts at privacy and returned to his comfortable spot besides him.

“You need to sign on,” Yuu explained. “There's a special event, just for the next six hours. For a trophy.”

“I'm kind of busy at the moment.” Kouyou complained. He was desperate for this special event trophy, but it would be rude to just go home now.

“It's just one dungeon, Reita and Ruki are already here.” Yuu explained. He could literally hear his friend pouting over the phone. “No sign of Kai though, I'd expect him to have signed on by now.”

“One minute, let me put you on hold.” Kouyou replied, muting the phone and glancing at the man beside him in bed. Could he ask this? It seemed rude, but if anyone would understand it would be Yutaka.

“I still have a Cosmo Seven?” Yutaka replied. “If you want to, that is?”

“Give me ten minutes, I'm sure Kai will show up.” Kouyou informed Yuu before hanging up the phone. “This is going to be the best date ever.”

“I know, but get dressed, I have a woman who comes to cook and clean due in less than an hour.” Yutaka replied. Frowning slightly he glanced at Kouyou, wondering if he should even ask the question. “You and Aoi seem friendly?”

“We went to school together.” Kouyou replied, “Reita too. The three of us were pretty much the entire Games Club, the hardcore members anyway. Ruki's just a stray we picked up along the way.”

“I need my clothes.” Yutaka complained, catching his clothes a moment later after Kouyou tossed them over to him. OK, so perhaps it wasn't romantic to have sex and then go straight online, but it was what they both enjoyed. Connecting them together in an entirely different way, but an essential one none the less.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Kai smiled as his friends welcomed him to the party, excited that he had signed on. Of course Uruha knew he would be here, but he seemed to have stayed quiet about the fact. Perhaps his friends didn't know they were in the same room? Either way, the delay his disability had made on him signing in, made it not so obvious he had heard about the event from Uruha.

“Reita's been so worried we'd have to find someone to take your place.” Aoi informed him sounding genuinely pleased that he was here, though Kai knew he was just stirring up trouble. “He loves you.”

“No, you love him.” Reita replied. “You write him love poems.”

“Really?” Aoi replied. “Like what?”

“Roses are red, violets are blue,” Reita chanted, pausing for a moment before finishing “I'm a big fat homo and I hope Kai is too.”

“Lovely,” Kai replied, laughing with everyone though he shared a glance with Uruha. This kind of locker room teasing was more than common among gamers, but there was always a part of him that didn't want to join in. Homosexuality wasn't a joke, or a way to put down your friends. He doubted Aoi or Reita even realised they were doing anything wrong, but he wondered what Uruha thought of his friend's teasing. Uruha was out of the closet surely? He couldn't imagine a man like him keeping something like this secret for long.

“So Kai, are you a bit fat homo?” Ruki asked.

“I'll have you know I'm a perfectly healthy weight.” Kai answered, without missing a beat. “Now, can we go to the Dungeon?”

“One minute, let me just heal that guy over there.” Uruha called out, running over to help another player that seemed to have been killed by one of the nearby monsters. “That's strange, it's not letting me heal him.”

“Maybe he's logged out but the game bugged?” Aoi suggested, as Reita tried to revive him with a potion. This too had no effect, the player simply remained unresponsive.

“Stupid bugs, they take the game down for hours every Wednesday and fix nothing.” Reita complained. Ranting on about everything else the game developers had failed to do as they made the journey to the special Dungeon that had been created for this event. Six hours, it should be more than long enough to complete it.

 

Kai stepped out of the portal into a field of knee high grass. A peaceful meadow, with snake type demons close by and a white wall in the distance with a boss defending the ornate gates. This was obviously their target location. He waited just long enough to make sure the others had entered behind him before he engaged the first demon. His sword swung fast, connecting hard and angering the snake before him. It reared up, taller than himself and unfolded a pair of giant green and red wings. A basic monster type seen throughout the game, the stronger ones capable of poison and paralyse effects. This one didn't have a chance to strike before it withered up on the floor defeated. In a heart beat Kai was on the next one, this time engaging a pair that came at him from both sides. He dodged one, but was hit in the leg by the other. He had no worries, Uruha had already healed the wound.

“These monsters are too easy.” Reita complained as they rushed towards the gates. “Where's the challenge?”

“They probably get harder as we go through.” Ruki answered. “Remember the last event? That's what they did then.”

“I guess you're right.” Reita muttered, still unimpressed by the monsters they were fighting. Kai left him to it, to in the zone too join in. It was fine for Reita and Ruki, standing far back out of immediate danger. He was the one who had to be constantly on his guard, or the whole team might go down. Unfortunately he'd been distracted, and a snake bit him in the arm. It hurt, that was the first thing Kai thought as he let out a startled yell of pain. This wasn't just a bug, it was a major health and safety violation. Someone was going to get fired for this for sure.

“Kai?” Uruha asked, the whole team pausing after the monster to find out what was wrong.

“I felt it, the bite.” Kai explained. “Not just the vibrations, but actual pain.”

“Impossible.” Aoi replied. “The game system wouldn't allow it.”

“It's the bugs.” Reita explained, as if he was the expert on everything. He spent a lot of time on forums, so knew a lot, but not in the way Kai did. He had helped develop these games, he knew exactly how the software touched nerve endings. It was perfectly capable of being used to cause pain, but to do that you would have to break through a whole bunch of safety shields in the program.

“That's what I thought. Only this can't be done by accident. It's a deliberate attack on the system.” Kai tried to explain, but the others were to busy arguing to even listen.

“Are you all right?” Uruha asked, his concern breaking the others from their bickering.

“Of course the drama queen is fine,” Ruki replied, “He didn't feel any pain before now did he?”

“It was my leg.” Kai replied. “But whatever, let's just continue.”

“No, I want to know why you think it's funny to pretend to be in pain.” Ruki replied, hands on hips as he glared Kai down.

“Shut up Ruki, go let a mob hit you and see if it hurts. That would be the useful thing to do.” Uruha snapped.

“I will.” Ruki replied, deliberately allowing himself to be hurt. Like Kai the pain was real, and he screamed in pain as his character took massive damage. The cloth armour of a mage doing little to protect him from harm. In an instant the team were together, killing the monster before it could do anything worse. Everyone was shaken now, there was no question that this was real and after a quick debate it was agreed they should log out and forget the trophy. The game was hacked and possibly no longer safe. Only, they couldn't log out or disconnect.

“What the hell.” Reita complained, first to notice the problem. The others not far behind, sharing his sentiments. “Let me ask a few friends, one second.”

“I doubt they can get out either, someone has done this on purpose.” Ruki complained, “We're trapped.”

“Let me see if we can leave the dungeon, nobody get hurt. Remember the guy we couldn't revive?” Uruha asked as he hurried back the way they had come. It seemed unlikely, but Kai watched hopefully, just in case.

“Kai, what did you mean about not feeling pain because it was your leg?” Aoi asked. So somebody had noticed his slip up.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I should have believed you.” Ruki added, both sets of eyes locked on Kai for an explanation.

“The nerves in my legs don't work.” Kai explained, far more confident about his disability now that he had seen how Uruha had reacted. “I can't move them, and I can't feel any pain.”

“I feel like such a jerk now.” Ruki complained. “I'm so sorry.”

“You should be sorry, who mocks a guy in a wheelchair?” Aoi scolded.

“I didn't know.” Ruki protested. Kai had never felt so low. His friends cared, but they pitied him. It was just like he had feared. How could you be angry with someone who thought they were saying the right thing?

“I don't want to be treated differently. Ruki can mock me all he likes.” Kai defended the team's mage. “Besides, why should I be upset by something said by a guy with black lines painted on his neck?”

“It's witch fashion!” Ruki protested, provoking another round of teasing. The mood was dampened by fear though. They couldn't log out, they couldn't leave the dungeon and when Reita finished sending messages he reported that everyone was in a similar state. They were all trapped online, where pain was real and possibly death. Nobody seemed able to revive the fallen.

“What do we do?” Uruha complained, reaching for Kai's hand and holding it tightly for comfort. He was scared, they all were, but there was an added pressure on Uruha now to keep them all alive.

“We probably need to complete the dungeon to get out.” Kai decided. “If I take all the damage and Uruha heals me, we'll be fine. I can handle the pain, I can't even feel it on my lower half.”

“We should clear every monster.” Reita suggested. “ Remember Luvaticus? When we fought that boss every monster in the area came to join the fight. It was chaos and would explain why these snakes are so weak.”

“It'll take ages to clear.” Ruki complained. It would, but there was no other alternative. They couldn't afford to take risks when their very lives were on the line.

 

They cleared the area in record time. For once nobody dared take the monster's attention away from Kai. He took every hit, but the pain was always fleeting. He relied on Uruha to take his pain away, every time he did his affection for the man growing. They had no choice but to trust Uruha would keep them all alive. It wasn't easy, but their romantic encounter together helped. Uruha cared for him, and so he wasn't afraid.

“MP rest.” Ruki declared, sitting on the floor to speed up the natural recovery processes. The bane of the mage class being that their magic didn't last as long as it should. Beside him, Uruha too sat down. They looked like sisters, Kai realised for the first time. Both playing blond, female characters with dazzling blue eyes.

“Ruki, why did you pick a female character?” he found himself asking. With Uruha he knew it was to attract the attention of men, who jokingly flirted with his character despite knowing it was controlled by a man. Other men, like Aoi, admitted it was just because they wanted to look pretty. The dark haired character Aoi used being his ideal for a woman.

“Better costume choices.” came the answer. Was he gay too then? Kai didn't want to ask. He didn't want to know if he was being honest. Uruha and Ruki had always been close, if they were once a couple he would be jealous. Jealousy was a distraction that right now could get them all killed.

“Do you know who I think did this?” Reita suddenly asked. “Uke Yutaka.”

“Who?” Ruki asked as Kai froze. Why was his name being brought into this?

“He was a big shot programmer for Cosmo Games.” Reita explained. “But there was an accident while testing the software and he lost the use of his legs. His younger brother died in the same tests. He vanished after that, everyone on the forums says he'd spent the last few years plotting his revenge. Some say he killed his brother, and faked his injury on purpose so nobody would suspect.”

“You shouldn't believe everything you hear on forums.” Kai scolded. He'd seen some of the nasty rumours that went around the internet about himself. They were one of the reasons why he was so hesitant to go outside.

“He has motive.” Reita declared. “Just think about it, who else would want to do this?”

“Plenty of people.” Kai replied. “It wasn't Yutaka.”

“What, you know him personally?” Reita asked, the whole team laughing at the idea. Everyone but Uruha that was. Had the cleric figured him out? It seemed likely, he'd made no attempts to hide his identity from him. Uruha knew everything but his family name.

“No, he is Yutaka.” Uruha announced. His loyalty to his friends stronger than his loyalty to Kai it seemed. “You are, right?”

“I am.” Kai confessed. “So I can assure you, I had nothing to do with this.”

“The perfect alibi, being stuck in the game with us!” Reita declared. Unable to let his theory go.

“Don't be a jerk.” Uruha snapped. “You really think Kai would do this? You were so happy when he signed on!”

“Everyone's fake online.” Reita replied. “How would I know what he's really like?”

“He's sweet and kind,” Uruha replied. “Funny and easy to get along with. He doesn't need this kind of verbal abuse.”

“Uruha, it's fine.” Kai reassured him. He'd never seen Uruha so upset.

“No it's not!” Uruha snapped.

“Chill out. It wasn't Yutaka.” Reita tried to defuse the situation. “Sorry Kai, I was wrong.”

“It's OK.” Kai replied. “You're right to be wary. You don't know me, and I don't know you. For all you know I could have set this up. I know how to do this, and how to fix the program. If I wasn't stuck inside it that is.”

“It's not OK.” Uruha sulked. “If you just met him, you'd know how wonderful Yutaka was.”

“If you're so in love with him, go sleep with him.” Reita complained. Uruha's silence saying everything.


	4. Chapter 4

The first boss had gone down easily enough. The gates behind him opening and letting the team through a small monster filled court yard and through the doors of a grand manor house. Here was a series of puzzles to defeat the monsters that spawned, seemingly at random. Conversation and attention remained on clearing this area until the doors at the end of the grand entrance hall opened revealing the second boss.

“Rest.” Uruha ordered, glancing nervously at the beast ahead. Some kind of chimera inspired creature with three heads, a lion, a dragon and a snake.

“I'm guessing fire protection is going to be good.” Reita commented. “I have some charms if anyone needs one?”

“I do.” Kai admitted, wondering if Reita would give him one. They had barely talked since the scene outside, Reita clearly didn't trust him.

“Here.” Reita said, offering the trade which Kai accepted with a polite thank you. Making sure the fire charm was equipped to protect him from harm.

“Kai, is what Reita said about your brother true?” Uruha asked, perhaps the only one comfortable questioning him. There was silence as they waited for him to respond, but what should he say? He didn't really want to talk about any of it at all.

“My brother was a programmer like me.” Kai replied, sitting down beside Uruha with all eyes on him. He wished right now, that the emotions and facial expression simulators weren't quite so realistic in game. “We both worked for Cosmo Games, always in competition even though we worked together. He was my best friend as well as my brother. We got better, and better, and then one day we were offered the chance to design a game together. Well, he loved James Bond so much that it was hard for me to deny his wish to make a stealth spy game. We worked so hard, but we rushed it. When we tested the game, it all went wrong. We'd made developments in the virtual reality software you see, but we'd got it wrong. Reita told you the rest. He didn't make it, I did.”

“A horrible accident.” Uruha declared, placing his hand on Kai's thigh and giving Reita a look that challenged him to disagree.

“We were too cocky, too self assured.” Kai agreed.

“You really loved him, I can tell.” Reita said. His way of saying sorry Kai assumed. He nodded and got to his feet.

“Let's kick some chimera butt.” he suggested. The team happy to carry out that plan.

 

Ruki stood in the back, sending ice bolts at the fire breathing dragon head as Kai kept the damage away from them all. It had hurt like hell when he had been hit, but Kai took every hit like a man. No wonder Uruha was so obsessed with him. Kai, Yutaka, really was a good man. Like Reita, he felt bad for judging him harshly before. He'd called the guy a liar, and Kai had just carried on as if nothing was wrong at all.

The beast before them let out a howl, the head shifting to the snake and he switched to fire having already figured out these elemental switches. It was a standard boss trick, nothing unusual at all. It was hard to trick Ruki in game, he was a master strategist who had grown up playing puzzle and stealth games. A simple boss like this was child's play. If only he wasn't aware of just how much pain Kai was taking. This monster was slow, but it hit hard.

“Jump.” Ruki called, seconds before the ground shook beneath them. He avoided damage, as did Reita and Kai, but Uruha and Aoi both let out a groan. They'd been too slow, but Uruha was already healing so he took another shot at the beast.

Finally it fell, crashing to the ground and leaving them alone in the locked ball room. Were they trapped? It felt like it, but there was always a way out in these kind of games. The others were more interested in the weapons it had dropped, but he wandered around the edges of the room looking for a lever or hidden door.

“There's nothing here.” Ruki complained. “At least I can't find anything.”

“There must be, they wouldn't just lock us in here. Unless it's bugged.” Reita replied. Off course he would blame the bugs, he must be secretly loving how a bug had caused all this chaos. A bug, or deliberate attack by a hacker.

[What do you think of Kai?] Aoi sent to Ruki in a private message. Were they talking about this now? He had a puzzle to solve.

[I think he's genuine. Kouyou is a romantic fool, so we can't really trust his judgement but he was with Kai for hours before this happened. They had a date, and then some fun from the sounds of things.] Ruki responded. Oh, what was that on the floor? It looked like a ruby gem, and over there was a sapphire and a emerald.

“Guys, we need to hit the three gems on the floor with the right elements. Probably at the same time.” Ruki called out. “Aoi, use an ice arrow on the blue one and Reita, you have a flaming dagger for the ruby right?”

“Yeah, give me a second,” Reita replied. “I need to equip it.”

[It was a badly timed event from Kai's perspective then.] Aoi confirmed. [I think you're right. He never seemed nasty to me. If anything he's too good. I'll hate him for that if you want?]

[No need. Our breakup was mutual. It just didn't work.] Ruki replied. Though it still made him sad to remember what he and Kouyou once had. Deciding to move on in the game before Aoi said anything else he counted down to the attack. They timed it perfectly, and a trap door opened leading them down a spiral staircase deep into a sewer scenario.

 

Uruha was glad he was in game right now because it meant he couldn't smell the terrible stench that must belong to a place this filthy. The dirt on his characters clothes would vanish as soon as they left the area. He didn't have to think about sewage on his legs. He didn't, but he did all the same. He hated being dirty, unless in a sexual way off course. Mud and grime just wasn't his scene. When other boys played sports, he had stayed indoors well out of harms way.

As a man, he had become used to getting his own way. His family had money, and low expectations for him. He'd ended up with spare cash, and a lot of free time. In a word, he was spoilt and his friends mocked him about it regularly. Clothes, cars, nights out out on town, he only had to ask. If he wanted it, he got it. Kai included.

He was vain too, he was well aware of the fact and if he was being honest he had almost walked out on Yutaka when he had realised who his date was. He couldn't be seen with a man like that, but then he had looked so adorably nervous he had hidden his judgement and gone over to talk to him.

It helped that he was gorgeous with a smile that made him weak at the knees. He had been sweet and kind too, the very man he secretly wished he was. He had felt terrible for judging him on sight, quickly realising he didn't care about the wheelchair at all. Perhaps he wasn't as spoilt and vain as he feared? At very least, being with Yutaka and seeing how happy he was by simply being accepted had made him feel like a good person for the first time in months. That was why he was so annoyed with Reita for being so rude.

The third boss broke out of the water, startling them all. A Kraken that had already hit Aoi and Ruki down to a third of their health bar. Now wasn't the time for self reflection, he had a party to heal.

He was stressed as hell by the time the monster fell, calling for a break before he sat on the sewer tunnel floor shaking in fear. He had almost lost half the team in that battle. His healing only just up to the job. If Ruki hadn't used that potion – it wasn't worth thinking about. He couldn't continue like this. He was a party boy and gamer. A rich kid with an easy life. Who would ever want him to be in charge of keeping them alive?

“Uruha? Are you OK?” Kai asked as his character sat beside him. That gentle loving expression was too much like the man he had taken to bed. He couldn't help but bury his head between his knees to hide his tears.

“It's too much pressure.” Ruki explained, taking a seat on the other side of Uruha and gently stroking his arm. “It's OK Uruha, we'll go slow. It took us all by surprise.”

“We'll use more potions.” Reita agreed. “To take the burden of you.”

“I'll stay well back from now on.” Aoi promised. His friends were all too good. He didn't deserve them.

[I only wanted to be with you today, because it makes me feel like a saint.] Uruha sent to Kai. Lashing out at the man he liked, to hide his own pain. He expected Kai to grow angry now, but he'd forgotten just how hard that actually was.

[You give me confidence, when before I had none.] Kai responded. Was this man for real?

[I'm not good enough for you.] Uruha responded.

[Who are you to say who's good for me?] Kai asked.

“I can see the final portal.” Reita suddenly called out. Breaking Uruha's self pity party apart. Unable to resist he looked up to see out of the sewer. There was a beach beyond with a stormy sea crashing to the shore. Several minor monsters, as there always was, and a Cyclops guarding the exit. They were almost out of here, it wouldn't be long at all.

“Don't worry Uruha, you can handle this.” Kai reassured him. “You care about us all so much, you'll never let us fall.”

 

As gaming went, this had to be one of the worst Dungeons he had ever run. The physical pain, insults and Uruha's lashing out had taken there toll on him. He hoped Uruha just had self esteem issues. The thought that Kouyou was only with him out of pity would hurt to much.

He had no choice but to put on a smile and lead the team out of the sewers. Joking and laughing as they fought their way towards the giant Cyclops. Only Uruha was silent, but Kai figured it was just stress. He'd hate to be a healer in a situation like this.

They rested before the Cyclops, everyone silent as they realised this boss would be tougher than the ones that had come before. Every member of the team worrying about what would come after the defeat. Could they log out then, or would they remain stuck online?

“Ready?” Kai asked. They all nodded and confirmed they were. His heart beating fast, he ran towards the Cyclops, engaging the beast in mortal combat. One of them was going down tonight, and he was going to make sure that it wouldn't be him.

He dodged, he weaved and he blocked. Anything to avoid being hurt. When he couldn't defend, he tried to make sure the blows hit his legs but with all his skill he still suffered massive pain. It was taking it's toll on him mentally to be a punching bag for so long. No wonder they were all reaching the limits of their patience.

“Die!” Kai found himself screaming at the beast. Over and over as he swung his sword like a mad man. He was angry now, his pent up aggression finding an outlet at last. He was Kai, the might warrior and defender of all.

The monster fell before he knew it, and he fell to the floor laughing as the game rewarded him the special trophy that no longer held any significance to him. He was just glad they could leave the Dungeon at last.

“It's a broadsword, for you Kai.” Aoi declared. The weapon that was assigned to him glowing gold. It was stronger than his current sword, special and unique. Not many people would have a weapon from this event. He wondered how many other groups made it out without causalities. He didn't want to think about it. They had survived, because they were that good. Their were thousands of gamers who wouldn't have been so lucky.

“Kai, I'm sorry.” Uruha apologised. Lingering after the others had left the Dungeon. “For making you mad.”  
“A lot of things made me mad.” Kai reassured him. “Just tell me one thing, do you genuinely like me or are you just trying to make yourself feel good? Am I just a cripple for you to care for?”

“Both.” Uruha replied. “I'm not a good person Kai, but I wouldn't sleep with a man I didn't like.”

“You're good Uruha. I'll make you see it.” Kai promised. Stepping out of the Dungeon and into the main game. He could log out from here, but only into the main internet. He was still trapped in virtual space then. Had all that fighting been for nothing?

[Everyone, meet in Uruha's Brothel?] Reita suggested. Well, it wasn't like he had any choice was it?


	5. Chapter 5

Like Kai, Aoi had spent his entire life playing games. He couldn't remember a time he hadn't spent the day wishing he could spend every spare minute of his life online. That was until now it had become a reality. In game he had been scared but calm, now he was just bored. He could tell his friends felt the same way. It was why they were arguing about how Uruha's chat room should look. Already the brothel had been changed to a beach, an elegant ball room and a vampire's mansion. Now they sat on a pirate ship, waiting for news from Kai.

Kai hadn't been around long, quiet in his own world thinking how to get them out of this mess. Aoi had no hope they could escape from inside, but then Kai had come up with a plan of how he was going to manage to hack into the internet from the inside. It sounded insane, until Kai had vanished. Had he escaped? Or was it just a glitch.

“Guys, Kai's no longer online.” Aoi said, already pressing the log off button in hopes the issues were fixed. They weren't, which was disappointing to say the least. What he wanted was a long hot bath. Perhaps with that bubble bath Kouyou had bought him for Christmas. He hadn't even opened it, but he felt like today was the day to break the seal.

“You think he got out? He'll be working on helping us next.” Uruha asked hopefully. He really trusted Kai, Aoi noted. It was touching, but meant nothing when it came to the validity of that trust.

“If one of us were going to get out, it would be him.” Reita replied. His tone and words guarded. Reita feared Kai had abandoned them all, Aoi realised. He said nothing, preferring to rely on facts over emotions.

“I think so too.” Uruha agreed with a beaming smile. “He'll rescue us in no time. Just you see.”

“Uruha, he might not be able to.” Ruki worried, just as the chat room flickered and turned to it's basic setting. An empty house, undecorated and without a personal touch. It cost a small fortune to run a private server space with the data limits or Uruha's, this was a chat rooms most basic form.

“Sorry guys, I had to reset the room.” Kai apologised. His avatar was nowhere in sight, but it was his voice. “You should be able to log out now.”

“Finally.” Aoi replied. Pressing the button and blinking as he returned to his own home. He had never seen such a beautiful sight in his life.

 

Akira glanced at his watch one last time, an hour had passed without a sign of Kouyou. No texts, no phone calls, nothing. This wasn't like Kouyou at all. His friend knew how much he worried about him. He would never stay past the agreed time without a text letting him know he was all right. The agreed time had passed, but they had met in game so he knew Kouyou was safe. Then an hour had passed since he logged out, without a word from his friend.

He dialled the familiar number as he grabbed his coat and hurried to his car. Surely this was a false alarm? Kouyou had been so happy when they met in game. He had given no sign that he was anything but in love with the man he had met only hours before.

The lack of answer had Akira's nerves on edge. He had to know Kouyou was safe, his friend understood. His friend relied on him to jump to action should he ever disappear. That was why Kouyou's kept the GPS active on his phone, the Track Me app always turned on. There was no place Kouyou could take his phone without Akira being able to find him. Tonight was no different. Kouyou, or at least his phone, was in a wealthy district not too far from his own home.

He drove with little respect for speed limits, locking the car as he hurried towards the building. Damn it, a door man. How was he supposed to get through now? At least if he tried he'd know if Yutaka had something to hide. There was no reason why Yutaka wouldn't let him in, unless he was up to no good.

“Hi, I'm a friend of Uke Yutaka.” Akira found himself saying. He wasn't sure he was a friend, not anymore. “He knows me as Reita.”

“One moment Sir.” the doorman replied. Buzzing up to Yutaka's apartment as he gave Akira a suspicious look. Well, he did look out of place in a rich neighbour hood like this. He was just a regular guy, who had been in the right place at the right time all those years ago. Kouyou had never forgotten his debt to him, for saving him from those who had planned him harm. Just fifteen, and already trapped in an abusive relationship with an older man. Akira wished he could say Kouyou's taste in guys had gotten better. It hadn't. Nobody Kouyou choose, seemed good enough for his friend.

To his surprise, and relief, he was invited inside and directed to the second floor. He choose the stairs and hurried up them quickly though he was sure now he was going to be met by Kouyou for panicking. He'll be waiting by the door, hands on hips and scolding him for not checking his email, or the forums or whatever random form of contact he had chosen today. Akira was sure he had checked all of them though, he couldn't think of anything he had missed.

“Reita?” a woman asked as she opened the door. He confirmed he was, and was shown into the apartment by the housekeeper feeling nervous. This didn't feel right at all. He was left alone, soon afterwards, in a living space with a man who was clearly Yutaka. He looked exactly as Akira had seen him in pictures, a little older, his hair a little longer, his face just as grave and serious as it always was.

“Where is he?” Akira demanded, making the other man jump. He had been so engrossed with whatever he was working on that he hadn't noticed his presence. Some kind of computer programming filled the computer screen, he didn't understand any of it.

“In the other room.” Yutaka responded, “I can't get him out of game.”

“Why not? You got the rest of us out.” Akira replied. He didn't give Yutaka chance to answer, rushing to the other room and finding his friend still online. Just as Yutaka had explained.

“Don't touch him!” Yutaka cried out, so panicked Akira paused, moments away from ripping the machine away from his friend.

“Why not? If we remove the equipment he'll wake up.” Akira responded, glaring down at he man in the wheelchair.

“If, and it's a big if, the safety features are all in place. I don't believe they are.” Yutaka replied. “You know what happens when you force someone out of a game without them?”

“No.” Akira admitted, consenting to listen for now. Yutaka seemed genuinely concerned for Kouyou's well being. If he was being honestly, he lacked motive to do this as well.

“You do, think,” Yutaka replied. After the silence that followed he explained. “Well in one case, the user ended up paralysed, in another, dead.”

“They forced you out of a game.” Akira realised.

“Just let me try and hack him out?” Yutaka begged, and for once Akira trusted a stranger on faith alone.

 

Yutaka sighed and sat back as his program began to run. He was so worried and stressed. Akira was right to be mad, this had all been a trap for him. It was his chair that wouldn't disconnect, his favourite game that had offered a special event less than an hour before everything had been hacked. If Kouyou didn't make it, it was his own damn fault.

“That's the Cosmo Eight, isn't it?” Akira asked, noticing that Yutaka had stopped his frantic typing.

“It was a gift.” Yutaka confessed.

“It's supposed to be you, sat there stuck in game.” Akira commented. So he had figured that out after all? Reita had never shown any signs of being overly smart in game, just average. He'd been wrong to make that assumption.

“Three weeks ago, I sent a game design to Cosmo Technology.” Yutaka confessed. “I'd been talking to the CEO for months, he was desperate to hire me again. He said I'd spent too long sulking around at home. Living of the compensation. In the end, I agreed with him. It wasn't much, just some programming I had been working on before I left, but he acted like I had just handed over the Holy Grail.”

“Another programmer was jealous.” Akira realised. “Do you know who?”

“No, I have my suspects, but I can't name anyone for sure.” Yutaka explained. Frowning as his computer failed to break through the firewall. “Whoever he is, he's good.”

“He needs to be put of a drip to stay hydrated.” Akira worried. Nervously Yutaka glanced over, it had been a few hours now, on the old system he really would be in trouble.

“The Cosmo Eight can turn the human body into a sleep like state.” he explained. “He'll be fine for another few hours. You don't need to eat or drink while asleep, it's like that.”

“So, he's asleep?” Akira figured out. “But conscious?”

“It's like lucid dreaming.” Yutaka explained. “When the dreamer is aware they're dreaming. Only instead of a dream, he's online.”

“I have an idea. Do you have another unit?” Akira asked. “I'm going in game, to wake him up.”

 

It had been twenty minutes since Akira had gone online, Yutaka really had no hope that this could work. Yet, what else did he have left to try? Perhaps this was the trick, something so simple. If he had been Kouyou, he would have been so busy trying to hack out that he wouldn't have thought of something so simply as waking up. This was a trap for him, but Akira might have just found the way to break it.

Suddenly Kouyou's eyes fluttered open. Awake and appearing to be well. He seemed tired, and a little out of it, but as their eyes focused he ran over and dived onto the wheelchair. One leg resting to the side, the other in Yutaka's lap. They kissed desperately, both so relieved Kouyou had made it out in perfect health.

“Don't mind me.” Akira interrupted. Just like that, Kouyou was hugging him, thanking him over and over for getting him out alive. Eyes met over the blond's head, and then Akira did something that surprised Yutaka completely. “Yutaka helped, he's a good man who cares about you and has no need of your money. You need to keep this one.”

“That's what I’ve been telling you!” Kouyou scolded. “One minute, I need the bathroom.”

“You should brush your teeth too.” Akira teased, the joke lost on Kouyou who began desperately searching for breath mints.

“Don't be mean to the poor boy.” Yutaka scolded. “He's had a rough day.”

“I think we all have.” Akira replied. “But, we saved the princess and the kingdom.”

“All that remains is the final boss.” Yutaka replied. If his gut instinct was right, the boss would be his uncle, the current head of games development as Cosmo Technology.

 

Kouyou happily let Yutaka into his new home, all smiles as he showed his lover around. It had been a few weeks since they had all been trapped, but things had quickly gone back to normal. He spent less time online now, not out of fear but because spending time with Yutaka was just as important. He loved him so much that he had even used his parents money to rent a new place, one with wheelchair access.

“Well, it's not a brothel,” Yutaka teased. His life probably having changed more than Kouyou's. His uncle had been arrested and faced a prison sentence for everything he had done. His motives hadn't just been business orientated, though he obviously was worried about his nephew taking his job as Cosmo Technology. He was after Yutaka's money as well, having built up a huge gambling debt and the only family member his nephew had left. It would have worked too, had it not been down to luck and Akira's stroke of genius.

“It could be, if that's what game developers like.” Kouyou said, his voice like a siren's call.

“Can you break a thousand yen note? I'll need change if I'm going to be paying you.” Yutaka responded, laughing as he saw the adorable pout on his lovers lips.

“You're not getting any now.” Kouyou responded, hands on hips as he gave Yutaka a stubborn look.

“I'm sorry, come here baby.” Yutaka begged, his lover happily placing himself over the chair to accept a hungry kiss. There were many things Yutaka couldn't do with his disability, but he no longer gave it a moments thought. As long as he had Kouyou by his side, there was nothing his life was missing. “The others are waiting for us in game.”

“Make them wait.” Kouyou complained, but a moment later he was pulling away to show off his brand new Cosmo Eight. Fully safety checked now, and available to anyone with the money to pay for it. Sex was important, and a much loved activity between both of them, but the thrill of a good game would always come first. What could he say? He was a gamer at heart.


End file.
